ABC/Image Group LAThe Chainsmokers may have just solved the mystery of why their songs all seem to sound alike.
All the duo’s hits use similar chord progressions, and it’s all because Drew Taggart learned to play chords on a 25-note keyboard. A regular piano has 88 keys.
In the third episode of their vlog series About a Week Ago, Drew explains how he taught himself to write songs and how that influenced the duo’s hit song “Closer,” featuring Halsey. He says the song’s main chords came about simply because that’s what he was used to playing.
“These are the most amount of keys I could play on a 25 keyboard so those became the chords I just played for probably about 10 years before we sat down to write that song,” he says.
Drew adds, “Similar chord progression is in a lot of our songs because those are just what I sat down to play and they were, like, the most emotional thing that I could play.”
As for the lyrics, he says he was inspired by Blink-182 and how direct the pop-punk band’s lyrics are. He even referenced the band in the song with the line, “Play that Blink-182 song/That we beat to death in Tucson.”
Now, in a full circle moment, The Chainsmokers and Blink-182 are collaborating on a song. So far, there are no details on a title or when it’ll be released.
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